Pension Fund Lowers Payments: How Errors in the Employment Record Affect Seniority

The main problem is that during the calculation of the pension, the entire seniority of the employee may not be taken into account. Since the length of the seniority directly determines the amount of the future pension, such omissions seriously affect the payments.

According to 'Hvylya', this was reported by pension expert of the publication 'On Pension' Viktor Bohdanov.

Why Seniority May Not Be Counted

Most often, seniority is not counted due to shortcomings in the design of the employment record:

• the name of the organization is inaccurately indicated
• the signature of the manager is missing on the record of dismissal
• other technical errors

Ways to Protect Pension Rights

Expert Viktor Bohdanov emphasizes that citizens can defend their interests. The Supreme Court of Ukraine in its ruling in case No. 638/18467/15-a of September 30, 2019 established an important principle: technical errors in documents should not hinder the exercise of the constitutional right to social guarantees.

In case of inaccuracies in the employment record, the Pension Fund is obliged to take steps to verify the data. It is possible to confirm the work experience through:

• contacting the former employer
• requesting archival institutions (if the enterprise has closed)

If part of the seniority is not counted or pension appointment is denied, a citizen has the right to go to court. At the same time, they can use free legal support.

In the report presented by pension expert Viktor Bohdanov, it is stated that shortcomings in the employment record can lead to a significant reduction in the size of the pension for citizens. Therefore, it is important to check one's work experience and take timely action in case of problems to avoid unpleasant surprises in payment calculations in the future.